Barnes & Noble

Cold War anxieties and a pervasive fear of youth culture fuel the 1958 cult gem The Blob. Starring a young and already ultra-cool Steve McQueen, this vintage sci-fi/horror movie starts out promisingly enough with a catchy theme song penned by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and a crashed meteor that releases the deadliest pile of jelly known to man. When he witnesses the goo ingesting the town's doctor, McQueen tries to warn locals of their impending doom. But no one listens to him -- he's a rabble-rousing youth, after all. Soon enough, it's up to McQueen and his girlfriend Jane (Aneta Corsaut) to save lot of running and screaming townsfolk from the hungry blob. McQueen makes the movie, his trademark strut and stoicism are already firmly in place, albeit pit against a truly absurd villain. Charming in its 1950s Americana morals, The Blob is an ideal drive-in throwback, the higher end version of what contemporary schlockster Ed Wood aspired to make, and a generally campy good time for genre fans. R.J. Wafer

All Movie Guide

In his first starring role, Steve McQueen plays a typical oversexed, car-lovin' highschooler who can't get anyone to believe his story about a huge meteor, which crashes to earth and begins exuding a pink, gooey substance. Affixing itself to the body of an old man, the "blob" begins parasitically sucking the life out of several unfortunate humans, growing to an enormous size. Problem is, the disappearances of the victims can all be explained (one is supposed to be out of town, another is attending a convention), so the cops still won't believe McQueen or his girlfriend Aneta Corsaut (the future Helen Crump of The Andy Griffith Show). Rallying his teen pals, McQueen finally manages to get the adults' attention-but by now, the Blob is consuming entire city blocks. In 1972, the sequel Beware the Blob followed. Hal Erickson

Product Details

• UPC: 030309980192
• Source: THRILL KILL
• Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Time: 1:23:00
• Sales Rank: 13,003

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